Altiplano is a Bolivian highland, characterised by extremely unfavourable conditions for life and agriculture. These include low temperatures, strong UV radiation, low precipitation, and high salinity. Local population has been growing quinoa as a main food crop for thousands of years, and lately it has become important worldwide for its high nutritional value and resistance to extreme conditions. In light of climate change and consequent food insecurity, it has become important to find sustainable alternatives to traditional farming practices, such as using microorganisms for bioremediation and improving growth of crops. Extremophilic and extremotolerant fungi are promising candidates due to their ability to withstand extreme conditions. In the following work we examined the enzymatic activity of 15 yeast and filamentous fungi isolates from different parts of the Altiplano. The purpose was to determine whether these isolates may be appropriate for use in bioremediation and improving the growth of quinoa crops. We have shown that the isolates are able to degrade plant and animal substrates. We have not shown resistance of these isolates to antimycotics.
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